Latin Commentaries on Revelation

Ancient Christian Texts

by Victorinus of Petovium, Apringius of Beja, Caesarius of Arles

Interest in the book of Revelation in the Western tradition is stronger and earlier than that in the East. The earliest full commentary on the Apocalypse is that of Victorinus of Petovium written in the mid to late third century by the earliest exegete to write in Latin. Victorinus interpreted Revelation in millennialist terms, a mode of interpretation already evident in works by Irenaeus, as well as in modest allegorical terms. Caesarius of Arles wrote in the early sixth century and offered a thoroughgoing allegorical-ecclesial interpretation of the Apocalypse. Apringius of Beja in Portugal, writing in the mid sixth century, drew on Jerome's edition of Victorinus's commentary yet understood the seven seals christologically as the incarnation, birth, passion, death, resurrection, glory and kingdom. Bede the Venerable, who died in 735, is the last commentator to be included in this collection. Characteristically, he passes on commentary from earlier exegetes, here including that of Augustine, Gregory the Great, Victorinus, Tyconius and Primasius. William Weinrich renders a particular service to readers interested in ancient commentary on the Apocalypse by drawing together these significant Latin commentaries. The work of translating these texts was begun in preparing the volume on Revelation in the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. We are indebted to William Weinrich for completing this work with his able and fresh translation and notes on these texts.

Genres: Reference, New Testament

251 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2011

Reviews

[Jeremy Bouma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine with me if you will that we take a trip to Rome. Among the many sites we visit is an old library nestled in the heart of this ancient city. Now imagine that we pull a stunt straight out of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade and find our way into the catacombs beneath this ancient library. But rather than simply housing the remains of dead saints, it also houses the remains of volumes upon volumes of long forgotten manuscripts from those dead saints. While the catacombs in Indiana's version of the story contained the shield of a knight from the first crusade with information engraved upon it that led him to the holy grail, our catacombs contain a holy grail of another sort: ancient commentaries from long forgotten Christian thinkers.

That's exactly what IVP's Ancient Christian Texts series is: a storehouse of ancient, long-forgotten texts that contain insights into the Holy Scriptures from some of the most ancient, early Christian thinkers of the Church. A few months ago I reviewed one such volume from this ancient storehouse on Ambrosiaster's commentary on Pauline epistles. I'm thankful to add another volume to my budding ancient storehouse of early Christian commentary on Scripture thanks to the folks at IVP who gave it to me to review—this one is on the Book of Revelation and includes the voices of four early latin commentators: Victorinus of Petovium, Apringius of Beja, Caesarius of Arles, and Bede the Venerable. If none of these names sound familiar, that's OK and that's the point! The beauty of this series is the full text of commentaries on Scripture from the patristic period (A.D. 95-750) that have been unnoticed or untranslated are given their full consideration in order to provide fresh sources of valuable commentary from this era not available in English before. Such an effort is a blessing considering the great need we have to be reminded of how the Church has talked about issues that are central to the Christian faith.

As most of you know, there's been a lot of talk about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person whose ever lived. Traditional understandings and teachings on judgment are being upended in an effort to make the Christian faith more palatable to a culture that is averse to any notion of judgment. This is where the benefits of historical theology come in. Historical theology examines how the Church has talked about central pieces of the Christian faith in the past and examines the historic progression of that faith. And that's where this commentary series comes in and where this commentary on latin comments on Revelation comes in. I think it can be incredibly helpful and instructive to use such a commentary to hear from those voices that have been long forgotten or were never known in the first place. Like I've done with other commentary reviews, I want to take a look a selection and see how these four latin voices understood this particular passage of Scripture. What's wonderful about this particular collection is that these voices represent four corners of the known world at the time, providing a glimpse into how the early Church understood John's Apocalypse. In light of these contemporary issues of the Christian faith regarding heaven, hell, and judgment, I thought I would look at a section from Revelation 20.

Before we get to the comments of these early latin voices, just who were these early latin Christian thinkers? This volume does a wonderful job of summarizing their life, text, and theology/method. Here is the low-down:

Victorinus of Petovium's life was written about by Jerome, who indicated that he was a bishop of Petovium, the headquarter of the Roman province of Upper Pannonia (included parts of modern day Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia). He wrote actively during the latter half of the 3rd century. And as Jerome writes, "At the end he received the crown of martyrdom," which was around 304. His influence seem to extend well into the Middle Ages and is mentioned at least 41 times by ancient writers. Jerome even lists him among the pillars of the faith. Theologically, his work "retains evidence of early primitive expectations of early Christian eschatology which are largely unaffected by a later dogmatic consensus." Methodologically, it has mild allegorical exegesis that reflects the influence of Origen.

Aspringer of Beja is even less known than that of Victorinus. What we know is that he was a bishop of the church at Pax Iulia in the southwest region of modern day Portugal. Isidore of Seville (636 AD) indicates he was active during the reign of Visigothic king Theudis (531-548), which places him in the 6th century. Unfortunately, by the end of the 6th century information about his commentary on Revelation was scarce, the commentary itself only being quoted a handful of times into the Middle Ages and becoming rare after his death. Theologically, Aspringer's commentary is anti-Arian and is in many ways a Trinitarian tractate.

Caesarius of Arles was born in the region of Chalon-sur-Saone in Gaul (modern day France). When he was 19 he lived as a monk at the famous monastery on the island of Lerins. Later he was made abbot and then bishop of Arles on the southern coast of modern day France. As bishop of the most important church in southern Gaul, he promoted the interests of the Roman church in Gaul, furthered monastic life in the region, promoted the ideals of asceticism, established a women's monastery, and presided over no fewer than 6 synods, including the important Council of Orange (529). Caesarius' commentary is especially unique as it's a collection of 19 homilies, providing an interesting historical example of the type of literary form that existed between the early and medieval periods.

Bede the Venerable is our last voice from the North, and is often regarded as the creates of all ancient Anglo-Saxon scholars. He was born in 673 in the kingdom of Northumbria in modern England. A generation before Christianity came to the kingdom with the conversion of King Edwin. While this opened the door for other Christian expressions, like Celtic Christian practices, the primacy of Rome was eventually asserted. In the late 6th and early 7th centuries Bede would be ordained as a deacon and then priest. He is thought to have participated in one of the oldest surviving early Latin Bibles, known as Codex Amiatinus. The commentary itself was influenced by the 4th century Donatist, Tyconis. In the preface, Bede mentions that Tyconius' seven rules of interpretation would guide the commentary. He also cites Augustine, Gregory the Great, Jerome, and also our other Latin contributor Victorinus. The guiding theology undergirding Bede's interpretation is the notion that it is "a vision of the spiritual realities at work as the Church sojourns in this world on her way to her consummation." (xlix) Thus, Bede's interpretation of Revelation as "a revelation of present spiritual realities heightens the impact and relevance of Revelation." (xlix)

Now for our sample text, Revelation 20:13-15. How do these four early latin Christian thinkers approach and interpret this text? Listen to each of these four voices for ancient insight:
Victorinus of Petovium—3rd/4th century Upper Pannonia (Eastern Europe)

At the time of the first resurrection will also be that future, beautiful city that this writing has described. Also Paul spoke in this manner to the church in Macedonia concerning this first resurrection: "For this we declare to you," he says, "by the word of God that at the trumpet of God the Lord himself will descend from heaven to arouse the dead from sleep. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to met the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." We have heard that he spaces of a trumpet. We observe the tin another place the apostle mentions another trumpet. He says to the Corinthians, "At the last trumpet the dead with rise"—they became immortal—"and we shall be changed." He says that the dead will rise immortal in order to suffer their punishments; however, it is clear that we will be changed and clothed in glory. When, therefore, we hear that there is a "last trumpet," we must understand that there has also been a first trumpet. Now these are the two resurrections. Therefore, however many shall not rise previously in the first resurrection and reign with Christ over the world—over the nations—they will rise at the last trumpet after the thousand years, that is, at the final resurrection among the impious, the sinners and those guilty of various ways. Right, then, does the passage continue by saying, "Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection; over such the second death has no power." Now, the second death is damnation in hell.

Aspringer of Beja—6th century Pax Iulia (Portugal)

Lest anyone says that those who have died at sea or have been drowned by water or have been eaten by beasts or have been destroyed by fire cannot be raised again, it says that they gave up their dead. And since no one will escape the judgement of God, it adds, and all were judged by what they had done.

Lest anyone should think that after the resurrection there follows a death of the body, and opinion that is profane to believe and even to mention, he adds, Then Hades and death were sent into the lake of fire. THis is to show that since death has been over taken no one will die again. Moreover, since the nether region has been condemned, hell will find no one further whom it might receive.

Whoever did not believe during life and did not open his mouth in confession of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be destroyed along with death and hell because he failed to receive life. Nevertheless, we do not confess that everyone will dies or come to punishment. Rather that will be fulfilled which we read in Daniel, "Some shall rise to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt, so that they might always behold." And what shall they always behold, if not that they are tormented but others are glorified?

Caesarius of Arles—6th century Gaul (France)

"And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophets were." The false prophets are either the heretics or the false Christians. From the time the Lord suffered, the beast and the false prophets were dying away and are sent into the fire, until the thousand years from the advent of the Lord should be complete. "And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of the life of each person." The books that are opened are the Testaments of God, for the church will be judged according to both Testaments. The book of the life of each person contains the record of our deeds, and no one could become knowledgable of the recounting of these hidden acts that the book contains. "And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done." The dead were judged from the Testaments, whether they had obeyed the commandments of God or they had not. "And the sea gave up its dead." This speaks of those whom the day of judgment will find yet alive; they are the dead of the sea, for the sea is this world. "And death and Hades gave up their dead." This speaks of those persons whom the day of judgment will find in their tombs. "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake." It is speaking of the devil and his people. "And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was throne into the lake of fire." This speaks of those who while they were living had been given over to their desires through an investigation in the time of this present age and therefore did not now merit to be judged.

Bede the Venerable—7th century England

[v13] Without doubt, this occurred before the dead were judged.

And so he recapitulates what he had interrupted and returns to the order by saying And all were judged by what they had done. He indicates that the bodies and the souls are to be brought together, the bodies from the earth and the souls from their own locations. By DEATH he indicates those good souls who endured only the separation of the flesh but would not suffer punishment, while by HADES he indicates the wicked souls. It is also possible to interpret this literally to mean that all the bodies that the waves of the sea carried away or that the beasts had devoured would be resurrected.

Tyconius interpreted the passage this way: "Those nations that he shall find here still living are the dead of the sea; while 'death and Hades have up there dead' refers to the nations that are dad and buried.

[v14] Although he had said, "And all were judged by what they had done," he briefly adds in what manner, Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. It is speaking of the devil and his followers. In a previous passage Hades followed the devil, who was the rider of the pale horse. It repeats move clearly what in anticipation it had already said. "And the devil who had deceived them was throne into the lake of fire and sulfur." What there he had added more obscurely of the beast and false prophet here he explains more clearly.

[v15] This passage is speaking of those who are not judged by God to be living. For this reason, it seems to me that those interpreters are correct who say that the open books above are the thoughts and deeds of each person that have been made known. However, the book of life is the foreknowledge of God, which cannot fail concerning those to whom eternal life will be given. They are written in this book, that is, they have been foreknown by God.

When judgment in which he sees the damnation of the wicked has come to an end, he continues the narrative so that he might speak also of the blessed.

You can see there is some wide ranging interpretation and exegesis concerning this example section from Revelation 20. Obviously, this type of commentary series is not meant to be a primary source for biblical interpretation. Instead, it's meant as a supplemental source to see how others throughout the Church have understood the Text. It is also useful for theological junkies like me who are interested in having a better understanding of how the Church has understood the pieces of the Christian faith, in this case judgment and hell.

As I wrote in my first review in this series, as an academic I have a great interest in historical theology as it helps us understand the historical progression of the Christian faith and what factors—historical, cultural, sociological—helped influence that development; as a pastor I also have great interest in historical theology, because it reminds us of what the Church has always believed regarding what is central to the Christian faith. And given the massive upheaval in the Church right now regarding that very thing—what is central to the Christian faith—I think there is great value in these volumes from the Ancient Christian Texts series. I would highly recommend this book and entire series for both students of history and pastors of the present, in order to get a glimpse into an era long forgotten for the sake of our 21st century world.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My initial plan was to skip reading Bede's commentary since I already own and have read a kindle version of this commentary. I quickly changed my mind, though, because of the excellence of the footnotes. The footnotes to Bede document his dependence on earlier commentaries and on Augustine. They document his partial dependence on Primasius’s commentary, which unfortunately is not included in this book. It seems nobody as of yet has translated Primasius’s commentary into English, but Francis Gumerlock is currently working on one with a projected publication date of 2024.

[Diana Kullman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of these are duplicates from the ACCS text on Revelation. If I'd researched more, I probably wouldn't have purchased this volume as well as the Greek commentaries on Revelation.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Latin Commentaries on Revelation is a 250 page hardcover book, which contains four commentaries on Revelation from Victorinus of Petovium, Apringius of Beja, Caesarius of Arles, and Bede the Venerable. I confess to being ignorant of all of these men. except for Bede. Thankfully, the introduction contains information on each of these four men. Victorinus was a bishop in the 3rd century. Apringius was a bishop in the 6th century. Caesarius was also a bishop in the 6th century. And Venerable Bede was a monk in the 8th century. Thus, these Latin commentaries all occurred fairly close in time to one another, if you consider that the Church is over 2000 years old. In addition to providing biographical information on these four men, there is also background on their other writings and their commentary style of Revelation.

Victorinus' commentary was surprisingly short at only 22 pages. Each chapter of Revelation only received about one page of commentary, except for the first chapter. At times, it reads more like a summary than an actual commentary. Apringius' is slightly more robust at 40 pages in length. He takes a verse-by-verse approach with his commentary, and if I'm being honest with myself that is how I like my commentaries. Since he borrowed the bulk of his commentary from Jerome's editing of Victorinus, the only parts in this section that are his are commentary on Revelation chapters 1 through 5 and 18 through 22. Caesarius' section is composed of nineteen homilies, which appear addressed to monks. It is mainly expositions, but it also contains personal messages to his audience as well. Bede's commentary is the longest and most intact, and it too follows the verse-by-verse approach. I particularly enjoyed reading about Chapter 21, as Bede walks us through the significance and meaning of each of the precious stones of the Holy City.

The real jewel of this work is Bede's commentary. The other three are a nice bonus and given an interesting perspective of how earlier Christians viewed this controversial book of the Bible. It also provides a sort-of timeline view of how the Church's view of this book changed as well. With some of the commentaries, primarily Apringius', you'll have to take into account the cultural bias in what is said. It was not as good to me as the Greek Commentaries on Revelation, but if you can get it for a good price, you should so that you can have both an Eastern and Western view of the book of Revelation.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The full extant witnesses of four early Christian commentaries on Revelation from the Latin west, written between the third and eighth centuries CE.

The commentary of Victorinus of Petovium is important since it is a third century witness; he uses some typology and sees the heretics in every antagonistic image. The commentary of Apringius of Beja is incomplete, with only the first few and last chapters preserved, but represents good typological style. Caesarius of Arles is more homiletical in expression and mostly interested in typological identification and explanation. Bede is the most thorough commentator, often speaking typologically, but also interested in making good sense of the text.

If one seeks to find the "silver bullet" of interpreting Revelation among patristic works, one is likely to be disappointed; patristic authors in general did not expound upon Revelation as much as other books of the Bible, and their interest in Revelation was mostly typological, thoroughly overshadowed by the spiritual/typological schema of Tychicus, Primasius, and Augustine. Some later controversies (amillennialism vs. premillennialism) are already manifest, but few today would follow the exegetical path of the patristic authors.

Nevertheless, an important resource for an understanding of the history of interpretation of Revelation, and useful for parallels between the "Wisdom Literature" of the OT (especially Psalms) and Revelation.